The Government has called on interested local and foreign investors to submit opened bids for management of Gatumba Mining Concession in Ngororero District.

The successful bidders will be expected to return the cassetirite and tungsten-rich concession back to full operation.

Each successful bidder can be given a maximum of three blocks, officials said.

The concession is one of Rwanda’s largest mining fields with a surface area of 20,862 hectares. Due to this large size, it had in the past proved difficult for a single mining company to operate it optimally, giving leeway to illegal mining activities.

The mine was divided into 20 blocks, eight of which are large-scale.

Evode Imena, the minister for State in charge of minerals, said interested investors can bid for up to three concessions, with government keen on those with sound track records and significant portions of investment.

"We are receiving bids now until October 22. The selected companies will be able to get concession licences of five and 25 years, or anything between, depending on negotiations. Site visits are now open to potential firms until October 17,” Imena told The New Times.

"We are seeking at least three or five large-scale investors able to explore large concessions to maximum capacity. The qualified firm will be required to provide technical and financial proposals for each block applied for.”

In an assessment manual, the ministry stated that access to water and complaints from landowners over expropriation are the main challenges affecting some of the blocks.

Interested investors should be ready to address these challenges, the minister said.

"We want to spell out all the existing challenges so that interested investors know what to expect. If we inform them early, then mistakes made in the past will be avoided,” Imena said.

"Some of the mineral-rich land is owned by surrounding residents, so the investors will have to expropriate and compensate the owners.”

There is minimal activity at the entire concession as South African company, Gatumba Mining Concession Ltd, which managed the concession from 2007 until early this year, is winding down its activities.

The firm is expected to clearout by March.

In the 1920s, a Belgian company discovered chunks of mineral deposits such as of cassiterite, niobo-tantalite, wolframite, tourmaline and several other secondary minerals such as beryl and amblygonite, in Gatumba.

The government has been eager to exploit its mineral sector, and already adopted a new mining law in June, while also planning to open a mining research faculty at the University of Rwanda.Earlier this month, Canadian mining firm, Tinco, was awarded a licence to operate the Northern Province concessions of Nyakabingo and Rutongo for 25 years.

Mining fetched $228 million from 8,100 tonnes of mineral exports in 2013 (40 per cent of the total exports).